Nintendo Wii Outsells Xbox 360 And PS3 Combined in March

Nintendo continued its domination on the next-gen market when it more than doubled that of combined Xbox 360 and PS3 sales. Thanks to the superb fighter, Super Smash Bros Brawl, the Wii nearly matched the combined sales of all other consoles when including the PS2.

“Across hardware, software, and accessories, the Wii contributed the most to total industry sales, representing 31% of total industry dollars for the month,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

“Super Smash Brothers Brawl along with a greater supply of inventory helped the Wii to capture the highest single month unit sales of any platform outside the holiday timeframe,” she added.

Nintendo sold an astonishing 720,000 Wiis last month with Xbox 360 and PS3 trailing behind with 262,000 and 257,000 sold respectively. The company that houses the big red plumber also increased its headlock on the handheld market as well with the Nintendo DS having 698,000 units sold with the PSP selling 297,000.

“Nintendo systems represented 58% of all video game hardware sold in March in the United States,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo’s VP of sales and marketing. “We expect our momentum to continue with big upcoming game launches like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Mario Kart Wii, and Wii Fit.”

Microsoft and Sony hope to catch up with the expected GIANT release of Grand Theft Auto IV later this month. Gamers should be prepared as we approach the prime of the next generation console war.

“All platforms, aside from the PS2, showed significant increases when compared with March 2007,” concluded Frazier. “The industry realized great growth last year and so far this year, that momentum is carrying through.”